Rotary drive mechanism for card pickers



D. J. STILES ROTARY DRIVE MECHANISM FOR CARD PICKERS April 7, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 13, 1955 g INVENTOR.

DONALD J. STILES AGENT April 7, 1959 D. J. STILES 2,880,996

ROTARY DRIVE MECHANISM FOR CARD PICKERS Filed Dec. 13, 1955 2Sheet-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. DONALD J. STILES AGENT United States PatentROTARY DRIVE MECHANISM FOR CARD PICKERS Donald J. Stiles, Johnson City,N.Y., assignor .to International Business Machines Corporation, NewYork, N.Y., a corporation of New York The present invention relates to afeeding mechanism and more particularly to a rotary type mechanism forfeeding recordcards from a supply hopper at extremely high speeds.

With the increasing utilization of electronic circuits in conjunctionwith punch card equipment, the problem of feeding cards into themachines at the greater speeds thereby required for eflicient operationhas become more acute. In many of these machines, groups of record cardsare placed in what is generally termed a supply hopper, from which thecards are fed individually to the first ofa series of high speed feedrolls which transport the cards through .the various functional units ofthe machine.

There are two limiting factors which must be considered in the design offeeding mechanism for such a machine. The first of these is that at thetime a card :is initially engaged by the card picking device, the speedof the device must be suflic'iently slow to prevent damage to the edgeof the card so engaged. Secondly, in order that the card be properlyregistered as it is passed through the machine, it is required that thefeeding device attain the velocity of the first'set of feed rolls beforethe card being-advanced reaches the bite of these rolls. In manymachines of present design, the feeding mechanisms utilized arereciprocatory in nature, the card being initially engaged at the end ofthe stroke in one direction at which time the velocity of the cardpicking device is at or near its minimum and then displaced to reach thebite of the feed rolls during the subsequent stroke at a time when thevelocity is at or near its maximum. However, as the speed of operationof such mechanism increases, the loading due to the reversal of themotion of the parts becomes critical and the maximum speed obtainablefor reliable operations over long periods is necessarily limited by themass of the parts being reversed. A further limitation exists'when'thedesign of a particular machine requires that the feeding mechanismbe capable of being rendered ineffective to feed a card during certainfeed cycles. This isordinarily accomplished by a clutching device of thewell-known one-tooth ratchet type, the utilization of which presents afurther obstacle of the same nature to the higher speeds required inpresent day electronic record card equipment.

Thus, it becomes a principal object of the present invention to providean .improved feeding mechanism capable of feeding record cards from asupply hopper at exceedingly high speeds.

In carrying out this object, the feeding mechanism disclosed as apreferred embodiment of the invention is rotary in nature and is drivenby a drive shaft which is continuously rotated at a constant speed. Apair of picker knives is coupled to the drive shaft for rotationtherewith to feed cards individually from a supply hopper. .The linkagecoupling the shaft to the picker knives includes a pivotable lever whichin .turn pivotally carries a camfollower. This cam follower cooperateswith a stationary cam which has a lobe provided thereon to effectpivoting of the coupling linkage at that time in eachcycle when thepicker knives initiallyengage a cardfin the sup- 2,880,996 Patented Apr.7, 1959 ply hopper. The eifect of this pivoting when transmitted -to thepicker knives is to reverse their rotational movement with respect tothe constant speed drive shaft. This reverse motion results in adeceleration of the picker .knives which is suflicient to ensure that a,card being fed will not be damaged when it is initially engaged. Thesurface of the stationary cam is such that the card pickers quicklyattain their normal high speed as they advance the card picked to thefirst of feed rolls.

In order to allow for selective feeding, the card pickers are pivotallyconnected to the drive linkage and each is biased so that, as it isrotated, a, roller connected thereto will follow the surface of one of aPair of guide cams. Each of these guide cams is mountedon a lever whichis ordinarily held in such a position as to guide the card pickers tofeed cards from the supply hopper. However, the levers and the camsattached thereto can be selectively flowered under the control of amagnet and armature assembly allowing the card pickers to be pivoted sothat they will be ineffective to feed cards from the hopper.

Thus another object of the invention is to provide a high speed feedingmechanism in which the velocity of the card picking devices is decreasedas a card to be fed is initially engaged.

A feature of the invention lies in a provision of means for obtainingsuch a deceleration of the card picking devices without changing thevelocity of the drive mechanism rotating the card pickers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a high speed rotary cardfeeding mechanism which may be rendered .inetfectiveto feed cards duringpreselected feed cycles.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings,-whic h disclose, by way of examples, the principle of theinvention and the best mode, which hasbeen contemplated, of applyingthat principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an end view of the novel feeding mechanism with part of theouter structure broken away.

Fig. 2 is a positional View, of the mechanism for suppressing feedingand is taken generally along the lines 2--,2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is asectional view taken along the lines 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3a is a positional view of parts shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 .is -a sectional view taken along 4-4 of Fig. 3 which has beenextended toshow the relation of the parts to the side frame of :themachine.

The novel feeding mechanism will now be explained with reference to thedrawings. Specifically, referring to Fig. 3 there is shown a supplyhopper 12 containing a group of record cards 10 which are to be fedindividually by a pair of card pickers 14 through a throat assembly,comprising roller ,16 and block 18, vto a pair of high speed feed rolls20. The further card feeding means which receive the cardsfrom feedrolls 2.0 and the machine functional units to which the cards arethereby advanced, not being part of the present invention, are notshown. Card pickers 14 are driven to feed cards to the feed rolls 20 inthe following manner.

Referring to Figs. *1 and 4, a shaft 22 mounted in bearings 24 iscontinuously rotated at a constant speed by a source of power not shown.Secured to shaft 22 and 3 are mounted to cooperate with thecomplementary earns 42a and 42b mounted on a stud 50 which is secured toside frame 68 (see Fig. 4).

Operating arm 34 extends below the supply hopper 12 and is rotatableabout bearings 25. Provided at the lateral extremities of arm 34 are apair of holes into which are press fitted a pair of pins 44 each ofwhich is in turn pivotally connected to one of the two card pickers 14.The linkage which transmits the rotary motion of shaft 22 to the cardpickers 14 may thus be traced from the shaft through constant speed arm26, operating lever 30 and operating arm 34 to the card pickers 14. Toeach of the pickers 14 there is attached a bias spring 70 (see Fig. 2).These springs urge the pickers to pivot in a counterclockwise directionand thereby cause the rollers 46 attached thereto to cooperate with cams48. This arrangement provides a guide for the rotary motion of thepickers 14 and, as will be hereafter explained, allows the pickers to berendered ineffective to feed a card during any card feed cycle.

As above explained, the card picker arm 34 carrying the card pickers 14is drivably connected through operating lever 30 to the constant speedarm 26 which is secured to the continuously running shaft 22, However,the cam follower arm 38 pivotally connected to operating lever 30 isprovided to govern the actual velocity of the pickers 14 and it is thismechanism which allows for the desired deceleration of the card picker14 as it first engages a card.

The mechanism is shown in Fig. 3 with the card picker about to engagethe bottom card in the hopper. As the shaft 22 and the arm 26 attachedthereto continue their rotation in a clockwise direction from thisposition to that of Fig. 3a the cam follower 40a carried on arm 38 willengage a lobe on cam 42a as the other cam follower 4% reaches acomplementary indentation in cam 42b. The action of the cams against thecam followers will urge the cam follower arm 38 counterclockwise aboutpivot point 36 and also tend to raise both the arm 38 and operatinglever 30 which is pivotally connected thereto. As shown in Fig. 3a theeffect of this motion will be to rotate the lever 30 about the pivotpoint 28 in a counterclockwise direction with respect to constant speedarm 26. Since the other end of lever 30 is bifurcated to engage stud 32on the card picker arm 34, this counterclockwise pivoting is therebytransmitted to the card pickers to in effect reverse their motion withrespect to constantly rotated shaft 22 and thereby decrease the absolutevelocity of the card pickers with respect to the stationary cards in thehopper.

The deceleration of the card pickers 14 allows for initial engagement ofthe cards at a time when the pickers are moving at a speed much lessthan their normal speed during the remainder of the cycle. The high andlow dwells of cams 42a and 42b respectively are short so as to cause thecard pickers 14 to be quickly accelerated to again attain the rotationalvelocity of shaft 22 and constant speed arm 26 as they feed the pickedcard toward feed rolls 20.

Thus, it may be seen that the operation of the novel feeding mechanismis such as to allow the card to be initially engaged while the picker ismoving at a relatively slow speed and also ensure that the record willbe moving at the proper velocity when it reaches the bite of the firstfeed rolls.

Selective feeding The novel mechanism provided to allow for suppressionof card feeding during selective feed cycles is best explained withreference to Fig. 2. The mechanism, there shown, is under control of amagnet 52 which has associated therewith an armature 54. Armature 54 isurged in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot 56 by tensionspring 55. With the armature 54 in the normal deenergized conditionshown, the notch 57 provided 5 side frames 68. The other end of lever 58is screw connected to the cam 48 which cooperates with roller 46connected to the card picker 14. As shown in Fig. 1, a similar lever 58is secured near the right hand end of shaft 66 which lever is screwconnected to the cam 48 provided to cooperate with the roller 46connected to the right hand card picker 14. As shown in Fig. 2, cam 48has at its center a slot 47 which is provided to allow the cam to beraised and lowered without interfering with shaft 22. A similar slot isprovided in the cam 48 at the right side of the mechanism and serves thesame function with respect to stud 50 which extends through that cam.

If the magnet 52 is energized with the mechanism in the full lineposition shown in Fig. 2, the card pickers 14 will be renderedineffective to feed a card in the following manner. Energization ofmagnet 52 will attract armature 54 causing it to be pivoted clockwiseabout its pivot 56. Pivoting of the armature will free lip 59 from thenotch 57 in the armature. A spring 60 is provided to urge a roller 61carried by the lever 58 against the surface of a cam 62 which cam iscontinuously rotated by a belt and pulley connection 64 to the shaft 22.At the time magnet 52 is energized the cam 62 is in the position shownin full lines in Fig. 2, in which position it is contacting the roller61 thereby relieving the latching pressure on the notch 57 in armature59. This action ensures proper armature operation and lessens thepossibility of failures due to sticking or binding when magnet 52 isenergized. The rotation of cam 62 from the full line position in Fig. 2to that shown dotted will allow the lever 58 and shaft 66 connectedthereto to be pivoted in a counterclockwise direction. This pivoting ofshaft 66 will result in the lowering of the cams 48 allowing the springs70 to pivot the card pickers 14 in a counterclockwise direction so thatwhen the pickers reach the picking position they will be below the levelof the card line as is shown dotted in Fig. 2. In this manner thepickers are rendered ineffective to pick a card during the feed cycleunder consideration.

The continued rotation of cam 62 will bring a camming stud 72 carriedthereon into engagement with a knock off arm 74 to thereby pivot thearm'and raise armature 54 to its original position. The continuedrotation of the cam will at the same time pivot lever 58 back in aclockwise direction so that the lip 59 may be again engaged by the notch57 in the armature. The parts are thus restored to their originalposition with the earns 48 raised to render the card pickers 14effective during the subsequent cycle to feed a card to the feed rollers20.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental features of the invention as applied to a preferredembodiment, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in theart, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is theintention therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising, incombination, constant speed drive means, feeding means movably carriedon said drive means and operative to pick a card in said hopper, and cammeans associated with said feeding means and effective by positiveengagement therewith to move said feeding means on said drive means tocause said feeding means to move at a decreased velocity relative tosaid card as the latter is initially picked thereby.

2. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising, incombination, rotary drive means, an element movably carried by saidrotary drive means and revolvable therewith to engage a card in saidhopper and feed it therefrom, and further means associated with saidelement for moving said element relative to said drive means duringrotation thereof to cause said element to be moved relative to said cardat a decreased velocity as it initially engages the card in said hopper;said further means including stationary cam means, and cam followermeans revolvable with said element by said drive means.

3. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising, incombination, rotatable card picking means adjacent said hopper, constantspeed drive means for rotatably driving said card picking means to causesaid means to pick and feed a card in said hopper, and stationary cammeans mounted in a fixed position and associated with said card pickingmeans for decelerating said picking means as a card to be fed isinitially picked thereby.

4. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising, incombination, a rotatable card picker adjacent said hopper, constantspeed drive means, means for coupling said picker to said drive meansfor rotation therewith to cause said picker to engage and feed a card insaid hopper, cam follower means carried on said coupling means, andcamming means associated with said cam follower means and effective bycooperation therewith to cause said picker to be decelerated as itinitially engages a card to be fed.

5. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising, incombination, a card picker mounted adjacent said hopper and effectiveeach time it is rotated to engage a card in said hopper and feed ittherefrom, constant speed drive means, a lever pivotally carried by saiddrive means and coupled to said picker to cause said picker to berotated with said drive means, cam follower means pivotally carried onsaid lever, and cam means cooperating with said cam follower means tocause said lever to first decelerate the card picker as it initiallyengages a card to be fed and then to accelerate said card picker as itfeeds the card engaged from said hopper.

6. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising, incombination, rotatable feed means mounted adjacent said hopper forengaging cards in said hopper and feeding them therefrom, cam followermeans coupled to said feed means and rotatable therewith, and cammingmeans associated with said cam follower means and effective bycooperation therewith during rotation thereof to first decelerate saidrotatable feed means as a card to be fed is initially engaged therebyand then accelerate said rotatable means as the card engaged is beingfed from said hopper.

7. A device for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprisingcontinuously operated rotary drive mechanism, shiftable cam guide means,a card picker pivotally connected to said drive mechanism for rotationtherewith, a cam follower carried on said card picker, means for biasingsaid card picker to cause said cam follower to cooperate with said guidecam means, said guide cam means cooperating with said cam follower beingnormally effective to guide said picker to pick a card in said hoppereach time it is rotated, and control means for shifting said guide meansto allow said biasing means to pivot said card picker as it is rotatedand thereby render it ineffective to pick a card in said hopper.

8. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising, incombination, rotary drive means, a positionable element connected tosaid drive means for rotation therewith, said element being normallyeffective to feed a card from said hopper when it is rotated, means toposition said element as it is rotated to render it ineffective to feeda card from said hopper, and cam means for decelerating said element asit is rotated to cause it to move at a decreased velocity as itinitially contacts a card in said hopper.

9. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising acontinuously driven positionable element normally effective tosuccessively engage and feed individual cards from said hopper, means toposition said element as it is driven to render it ineffective to engageand feed cards from card hopper, and cam means for decelerating saidelement as it is driven to cause it to move at a decreased velocity asit initially engages each card to be fed from said hopper.

10. A device for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising rotarydriving mechanism, a pivotable control lever, a guide cam mounted onsaid control lever, a pivotable card picker connected to said drivemechanism for rotation therewith, a cam follower carried on said cardpicker, means biasing said card picker to cause the cam follower thereonto cooperate with said cam, means for latching said lever in a positionsuch that by cooperation with said cam follower said guide cam mountedon said lever renders said card picker effective to feed a card fromsaid hopper each time it is rotated, means controllable to unlatch saidcontrol lever, and further cam means associated with said control leverand eifective each time said lever is unlatched to first pivot saidcontrol lever and guide cam mounted thereon to a position such that saidbiased card picker carrying said cam follower cooperating with saidguide cam is rendered ineffective for one rotation thereof to feed acard from said hopper and to then return said lever to its latchedposition.

11. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising, incombination, continuously operated drive means, feeding means movablewith respect to said drive means and operable thereby to engage and feeda card in said hopper, and fixedly mounted cam means associated withsaid feeding means and effective by positive engagement therewith as itis operated for moving said feeding means relative to said drive meansto cause said feeding means to move at a first velocity less than thatof said drive means as a card to be fed is initially engaged thereby andthen to move at a second velocity greater than said first velocity as itfeeds said card from said hopper.

12. A mechanism for feeding cards from a supply hopper comprising, incombination, rotary drive mechanism, feeding means including cardpicking means coupled to said drive mechanism for rotation therewith,first cam means mounted to cooperate with said feeding means andnormally eifective to guide said feeding means as it is rotated so thatsaid card picker is efiective to feed a card from said hopper each timeit is rotated but positionable to be ineffective to so guide saidfeeding means as it is rotated, and second cam means for positivelyengaging said feeding means as it is rotated to decelerate IsJaig gardpicking means as it initially engages a card to References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,593,620 Chvojka July 27,1926 1,901,832 Milmoe Mar. 4, 1933 2,330,831 Malhiot Oct. 5, 19432,566,822 Cahill Sept. 4, 1951

